My Ideal HIV Program

I have often thought of my ideal HIV/AIDS program and have even picked a location. The premise of my program would be, “if Mohammad won’t come to the mountain top, bring the mountain top to Mohammad.” I see a large facility that could be used for HIV/AIDS care right in the middle of the hood. I see the facility at 35th St. and MLK, where I grew up in Oakland. There are three separate parks there that were created in my youth and as a child, kids from all around would come to play. Back then they had a sand box, slides, and swings. All of that is gone now. The only thing that remains are basketball courts. However the parks there go unused, except for occasional basketball players, drug addicts, and the homeless. Today it’s not the kind of park you would send or take your child to. I see a building structure utilizing these parks.

The program would have on site services as well as connections and referrals to the larger entities of these agencies. I see a main building that would house offices for various agencies that would have rotating office space, offering social services, medical, dental, and mental health. I also see therapeutic groups held for the infected as well as the affected, such as family members and partners. I see an office there to help people with housing, education and job training opportunities. I see massage, acupuncture, and yoga being offered in another section. Another section would contain rooms for substance abuse counseling, meetings, and programs. I believe this would have to be a collective effort of the community working together, offering their piece of the puzzle. I believe we set people up for failure when you just give them a piece of the puzzle, and not the full picture. For example, how can someone concentrate on his or her medical needs and are homeless and on drugs.